Solsticewitch13's BOS

http://www.stonegateinstitute.org/2876/britain-multiculturalism

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Abbas's peace process will only lead to a Palestinian government or state controlled by Iran or the Muslim Brotherhood.

Who says there are no peace talks going on in the Middle East?

The peace process is underway in the Middle East, but not between Israel and the Palestinians. The only peace talks that are taking place these days are between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Abbas has chosen to talk to the enemies of peace who want to destroy Israel and replace it with an Iranian-backed Islamist state. On the one hand, he says he supports the two-state solution. On the other hand, however, he is seeking to form an alliance with all those who are vehemently opposed to the two-state solution.

Just last week Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, during a high-profile visit to his friends in Tehran, reiterated his wish to "liberate Palestine from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River. Those who think that Hamas and Islamic Jihad would ever recognize the right of a Jewish state to exist are engaged in self-deception and are living in a world of fantasy.

Abbas spent the past few days in Egypt negotiating with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other radical Palestinian groups that are strongly opposed to any peace process with Israel. He held lengthy talks with Hamas's Khaled Mashaal and Islamic Jihad's Ramadan Shallah about ways of achieving "national reconciliation and unity" among Palestinians.

The peace talks between Abbas and the radicals will not bring about a two-state solution. This is a dangerous process that will facilitate Hamas's takeover of the Palestinian Authority, whether through violence or free elections.

Abbas is working hard to convince the radical Palestinian groups to agree to the formation of a Palestinian unity government under his leadership. He seems to be naive enough to think that Hamas or Islamic Jihad or the Marxist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine would change their ideologies and strategies and abandon their dream of wiping Israel off the face of the earth.

Some Westerners also appear to be naive enough to support Abbas's peace process with radicals and terrorists. This is the same Abbas who for the past few years has refused to sit and talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas prefers to talk to Muslim fundamentalists instead of negotiating with Israel about achieving peace in the region.

But Abbas's peace process with the radicals will only embolden Hamas and Islamic Jihad. This is a peace process that will eventually lead to the creation of a Palestinian government or state that would be controlled by Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Muslim Brotherhood.

If the US and EU want peace, they should be urging Abbas to negotiate with Israel, not with those who openly call for the destruction of another state and have aligned themselves with Iran.

If Abbas truly wanted a two-state solution, he would be negotiating with Israel. By preferring to negotiate with the enemies of peace, Abbas is sending a message that he, too, does not want a two-state solution.

Britain Launches War on Multiculturalism

by Soeren Kern
February 24, 2012 at 4:45 am

http://www.stonegateinstitute.org/2875/egyptian-bearded-police

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"We have even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run completely counter to our values. ... I believe a genuinely liberal country... believes in certain values and actively promotes them." -- David Cameron

The British government has unveiled a new "integration strategy" designed to "champion a united British identity."

The new policy will require immigrants seeking admission to live in the United Kingdom to learn English and adhere to "mainstream" British culture and values such as democracy and the rule of law.

The measures represent a continuation of recent efforts by the government to reverse decades of state-sponsored multicultural policies that have allowed Muslim immigrants to avoid integration and establish a parallel society in Britain.

The new strategy document titled "Creating the Conditions for Integration" was published on February 21 and states: "We will robustly challenge behaviors and views which run counter to our shared values such as democracy, rule of law, equality of opportunity and treatment, freedom of speech and the rights of all men and women to live free from persecution of any kind. We will marginalize and challenge extremists who seek to undermine our society and we will neither engage with nor fund such organizations."

The document continues: "The long-term presence of a highly diverse population is generally an indicator of good integration and a strong sense that different people get on well. But this can be undermined and even reversed by a range of factors, for example if groups within the local community work and socialize separately."

Among a series of other measures, the government says it will reform laws on immigration and settlement by increasing the requirements on those who want to settle in Britain. Those coming to the United Kingdom to work, study or marry will be required to demonstrate an ability to speak English, and those wishing to remain permanently or seek British citizenship will be required to demonstrate their knowledge of language and life within the United Kingdom.

The new strategy also promotes the teaching of British history and culture in schools and encourages the flying of flags in public places. In addition, the government says it will work to restore the Christian faith to the center of public life in Britain.

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles, who is responsible for implementing the strategy, says the new measures represent a frontal attack on the multicultural policies introduced by the previous Labour government. Those policies included the watering down of the teaching of British history and policies which promoted "aggressive secularism."

Speaking to the London-based Daily Mail newspaper, Pickles said: "Under [Equality Minister] Harriet Harman's agenda, the Labour Government encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream. Political correctness replaced common sense. People were left afraid to express legitimate concerns and frustrations. We need a new approach. One that emphasizes what we have in common rather than difference."

Pickles continued: "It's sad to see how, in recent years, the idea of tolerance has become twisted. A few people, a handful of activists, have insisted that it isn't enough simply to celebrate the beliefs of minority communities; they want to disown the traditions and heritage of the majority, including the Christian faith and the English language."

The new integration strategy comes after British Prime British Prime Minister David Cameron publicly repudiated his country's long-standing policy of multiculturalism, declaring it to be a failure and responsible for fostering Islamist extremism.

In a speech to the Munich Security Conference in February 2011, Cameron said: "Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and apart from the mainstream. We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong. We have even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run completely counter to our values."

Cameron continued: "This hands-off tolerance has only served to reinforce the sense that not enough is shared. And this all leaves some young Muslims feeling rootless. And the search for something to belong to and something to believe in can lead them to this extremist ideology. What we see -- and what we see in so many European countries -- is a process of radicalization."

Cameron said a two-pronged approach would be needed to neuter the threat of radical Islam in Europe: confronting extremist ideology and, instead of encouraging people to live apart, promoting a clear sense of shared national identity that is open to everyone.

On this second challenge of fostering a shared national identity, Cameron said: "Frankly, we need a lot less of the passive tolerance of recent years and a much more active, muscular liberalism. A passively tolerant society says to its citizens as long as you obey the law we will just leave you alone. It stands neutral between different values. But I believe a genuinely liberal country does much more; it believes in certain values and actively promotes them. Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, democracy, the rule of law, equal rights regardless of race, sex or sexuality. It says to its citizens, this is what defines us as a society: to belong here is to believe in these things."

In a follow-up to that speech, Cameron in October 2011 announced a series of wide-ranging reforms aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration and visa fraud in order to "reclaim our borders and send illegal immigrants home."

Cameron said that in the future, immigrants applying for visas to live in Britain must show that they can speak English, and must also prove they have the financial resources to support themselves while in the country.

In some of his strongest rhetoric yet on the spiraling problem of illegal immigration, particularly from Muslim countries, Cameron also urged Britons to report suspected illegal immigrants to the authorities so they can be deported.

Cameron further said that in the future, all immigrants applying for a British passport would be required to pass a British history exam first.

Migrants wanting to settle in Britain permanently have been required to take a Citizenship Test since 2005. But that test, a multiple-choice quiz called Life in the UK, was reduced to a laughing stock when the previous Labour government ruled that immigrants should not be required to learn British history because there was too much of it and "it would not be fair."

Instead, applicants were asked questions about equal rights, discrimination and on how to claim social welfare benefits from the British state.

Cameron said: "We're also going to change the citizenship test. There is a whole chapter in the citizenship handbook on British history but, incredibly, there is no question on British history in the actual test. Instead you'll find questions on the roles and powers of the main institutions of Europe and the benefits system within the UK. So we are going to revise the whole test … and put British history and culture at the heart of it."

Despite its efforts to reverse multiculturalism, the British government faces an uphill battle to achieve an integrated society.

One day after the government announced its new integration strategy, the Office for National Statistics revealed that two-thirds of the babies born in London in 2010 had at least one foreign-born parent. In some inner-city areas, more than three-quarters of infants are now being born into immigrant families. The figure is below 50% in only six of the 32 London boroughs.

Migration Watch UK, a think tank that focuses on immigration and asylum issues, said: "These extraordinary figures illustrate the huge and rapid change that is taking place in our capital city. They illustrate the way in which London is being changed beyond recognition and on a scale and at a speed that makes successful integration so much more difficult."

Soeren Kern is Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook.

Related Topics: Soeren Kern

The Egyptian Bearded Police

by Anna Mahjar-Barducci
February 24, 2012 at 3:30 am

http://www.stonegateinstitute.org/2877/cpj-slams-legal-treatment-of-scribes-in-turkey

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The Prophet Mohamed and his companions led the "best armies in the world while being bearded." The idea is to occupy visually with beards the Parliament, the streets, public institutions -- but first the police corps.

"I Am a Bearded Police Officer" is the name of the new coalition established by the group of Egyptian police officers who asked the Ministry of Interior to grow beards to follow in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad.

The Saudi-owned media outlet Al-Arabiya reported that in Egypt the request immediately stirred much controversy over "the right to a religious appearance in the workplace." The Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim immediately refused the request, fearing that beards could become a symbol of support for the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists, as well as a symbol of opposition to ruling Egyptian Army. The Minister ordered the policemen to shave their beards while on duty. "Police officers are required to maintain a presentable appearance like all those working in sectors related to security," the Minister stated.

The group of officers, however, decided to disobey, and ignored the Minister's order. Egypt Independent mentions that the "free the beards campaign" became a public opinion issue and will hence soon "blow up in the Interior Minister's face." As reported by the media outlet BikyaMasr, during a recent Minister's trip to Assiut, he was confronted by "controversial calls for officers to be free to let their beards grow following the Islamic tradition." The Islamist movement, Gama'a Islamiya in Assiut, issued a statement condemning the minister and stating that the beard is at the core of the Islamic tradition.

To find more support, the "Bearded Policemen" group opened a public page on the social networking website, Facebook. Al-Arabiya reports the Captain Hani al-Shakeri, the official spokesman of "I Am a Bearded Police Officer," stated on Facebook that he will not change his position and will not shave. "I know that many Egyptians are keen to see police officers in Egypt grow their beards and follow the example of their prophet," said the captain, adding that by growing his beard, "at last I get to regain my humanity which I had lost during the oppressive regime." Another member of the group, Walid Hosni, wrote on Facebook that prohibiting policemen from growing beards would violate police regulations.

The Interior Minister replied to the disobeying officers that a beard is only a non-binding religious tradition, adding that he will be firm with officers who violate police regulations. "Police laws oblige all policemen to be well-groomed and to shave their beards and hair," he said, noting that these regulations are mentioned in all policemen's course books. Support for the Minister also came from some scholars at Al-Azhar, the world's leading institution of Sunni Islam. Al-Arabiya reports that the former head of Al-Azhar's Religious Edicts Committee, Sheikh Abdel Hamid Al-Atrash, commented that "growing a beard is preferable but it is not obligatory…..It is important that they maintain the appearance that goes with the status of the police, even if this would make them go against a preferred practice in Islam."

Other Al-Azhar scholars think a compromise could be found. Mohamed al-Berri, former head of al-Azhar's Scholars Union, stated that refusing to grant police officers the right to grow their beards reveals the "persistence of the same pre-revolution mentality." "Why is it a problem if police officers or others grow their beards so long as this does not affect their performance?" Al-Arabiya reported him as saying, adding, however, that the "Egyptian officers should focus first on regaining the lost trust between the police and the people, then think about their right to maintain the appearance they want."

The officers are, nevertheless, not willing to give up their demands. The group, claiming that to grow beards is their "constitutional and legitimate right," says the Interior Minister is not a legislator and his words are not binding. In the meantime, one captain has been suspended, and the Minister is apparently going to take more disciplinary action against officers who insist on growing their beards.

The media outlet BikyaMasr reports that the officers could even end up in court. Al-Arabiya also reports that senior police officers have warned the Minister of a possible confrontation with Muslim-parliament -- where Islamists hold nearly 75 percent of the seats, a quarter of which are Salafist -- in case the "disgruntled officers decide to take the matter to legislators."

Egypt Independent reports that, during an interview, the spokesman for the Salafis' Al-Nour Party, Nader Bakar, said that it is unacceptable that some people are demanding that bearded policemen be reprimanded. Bakar added that the Prophet Mohamed and his companions led the "best armies of the world while being bearded." He then said that he would "support them legally if they choose to file a lawsuit to defend their right to keep their beards." Salafist groups are, however, not all united in their support to the "bearded policemen". As BikyaMasr noticed, the Salafist Front spokesman Khaled Said, pointing out that the controversy "could harm the relationship between the Islamists and the ministry of interior," wrote on Facebook that he does not approve of the idea. The position of the Muslim Brotherhood is not clear.

Many Egyptians, however, criticized the policemen's initiative, assessing that in a time of political and economic crisis "growing beards" is not a priority. Egypt Independent reported, for example, that while these policemen is fighting for growing their beards, the country is collapsing and sit-ins and demonstrations to protest the continuation of the propane tank crisis in many different governorates in Egypt are increasing.

The Interior Minister now wants to put an end to the controversy of the "bearded policemen." For him, it is not a matter a resetting priorities. He is just concerned that if the bearded policemen win this battle, other policemen might start disobeying orders from the Army, which still keeps Egypt under a tight dictatorship.

If the bearded policemen will win, however, the beard will become a symbol of protest and of support for the Islamists. The plan is to occupy visually with beards the Parliament, the streets, public institution -- but first the police corps.

Related Topics: Anna Mahjar-Barducci

CPJ Slams Legal Treatment of Scribes in Turkey
And more from the Turkish Press

by AK Group
February 24, 2012 at 3:00 am